1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the field of graphical user software interfaces. More particularly, the invention relates to a method and user interface for displaying and configuring expert color management settings for printing devices in a computing environment.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In digital environments, the printing of color output having consistent, predictable color requires color management throughout the workflow. Color management in digital environments is necessary because different devices in the workflow have different color spaces, and they all must be calibrated to each other. Various methods and systems for automated color management are known. For example, Gu, U.S. Pat. No. 5,874,988 (xe2x80x9cGuxe2x80x9d) discloses a system and method for correcting color in video images. The image is captured from a video or a telecine frame, for example, by creating a digital copy of the image, and the copy is sent to an image analyzer. An operator views selected areas of the image and applies various color corrections in the RGB channels. The corrected image is saved to a storage medium such as a videotape or a computer mass storage device. The Gu teachings have nothing to do with color models other than RGB, and they have nothing to do with color space transformations. Furthermore, they don""t deal with sending output to a color printing device. It would be advantageous to provide a means of color management that allowed color correction in additional color models, and allowed color space transformation, and configuration of various printing options.
Interfaces to color management tools usually require the user to set multiple parameters and make several adjustments. Complicated user interfaces may frustrate and confuse the user. Thus, the user is unable to attain maximum benefit from a software tool, because much of the tool""s functionality is not readily accessible. Graphical interfaces help to dispel some of the user""s confusion. Sanchez, et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,784,177 and Sanchez, et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,832,298 describe a graphical user interface for configuring and operating networked output devices such as printers and fax machines. The interface includes an image of the device being configured. As the user modifies settings, the device image changes to reflect the user""s modifications. Neither of the Sanchez patents is directed to color management in any way.
Color management interfaces displaying different paths for the various elements of a source color space are known in the art. Such interfaces are of limited usefulness because they only permit the setting of system wide defaults rather than adjusting color management settings on a per job basis, and they do not permit the user to select a desired color management profile from a list of profiles. Such interfaces are also incapable of dynamically updating to reflect the color management capabilities of different output devices. Furthermore, such interfaces cannot be deployed in networked computing environments.
Consequently, there is a need in the art to provide a method of displaying and modifying expert color management settings such as color corrections, color space transformations, and printing options in a simple, graphical format. It would be advantageous to provide a graphical user interface that displays the color management settings as a representation of a color workflow. It would also be advantageous to dynamically update the workflow representation in response to actions by a user. It would be a further advantage to provide a color management interface that allowed the user to adjust color management settings on a per job basis and to display lists of color profiles that are dynamically updated.
A method and graphical user interface for displaying and configuring color management settings for printing devices in networked computing environments is provided in which the task of expert level color management is greatly simplified. The user interface includes a dynamic representation of a color workflow as it takes place on the printing device. The color workflow includes paths corresponding to the various source elements such as RGB, CMYK, Spot Color and Black. Available color management settings include: color space transformations, color corrections and printing methods; the user modifies the color management settings from pull down menus of options, radio buttons and other switches. As the user modifies the color management settings, the interface mapping is updated to show available options and current output paths in real time, according to the modifications. Thumbnail images, updated in real time allow the user to preview the output as modifications are made to the color settings. In a network environment providing bi-directional communication between workstation and peripherals, the color management tool queries the printing device and builds the user interface according to the unique capabilities and attributes of the printing device; if bi-directional communication is not available, the interface is built from generic options. The invention may also take the form of a computer program product on a computer-usable storage medium having computer-usable program code means embodied in the medium.